Italy's ANSA news agency says the suspects are Moroccan nationals with suspected links to al-Qaida. The report says the two, identified as Rachid Ilhami and Gafir Abdelkader, were planning attacks on a supermarket and a nightclub parking lot outside Milan. Authorities say additional attacks were planned on police stations in the area.

The report says wiretaps showed the suspects initially planned to use a van packed with explosives, but later decided to use oxygen canisters.

ANSA says police also seized a cultural center near Milan, where one of the suspects worked as a preacher.